Barkhamsted Center Historic District is a historic district at the intersection of Center Hill Road and Old Town Hall Road
in
Barkhamsted, Connecticut
Barkhamsted ( ) is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It contains seven villages: West Hill, Mallory, Barkhamsted Center, Center Hill, Washington Hill, Pleasant Valley, and Riverton. The population was 3,647 at the 2020 ce ...
. It encompasses the surviving elements of Barkhamsted's original town center, most of which was flooded by the creation of
Barkhamsted Reservoir
Barkhamsted ( ) is a town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States. It contains seven villages: West Hill, Mallory, Barkhamsted Center, Center Hill, Washington Hill, Pleasant Valley, and Riverton. The population was 3,647 at the 2020 ce ...
in the early 20th century. The district was listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
in 1999.
Description
Barkhamsted Center is located near the geographic center of the roughly rectangular town. It is set on the western shore of Barkhamsted Reservoir, centered at the junction of Center Hill Road, Day Road, and Old Town Hall Road. The latter road now comes to an end near the reservoir shoreline. Five of the district's six buildings are public in nature: they are a church and parsonage, school, the old town hall, and a former tavern. The Center Schoolhouse, built in 1821, was originally a two-story building; it was converted to one story about 1880. The first story was removed, keeping the second. The school was moved from its original location, very near the reservoir, to its current location on Center Hill Road in 1980. The school is now a museum run by the Barkhamsted Historical Society. The oldest building is the Nathaniel Collins House, a -story frame Colonial at 131 Center Hill Road.
[ .]
History
The town of Barkhamsted was incorporated in 1779, and has always had a rural character. It developed several small village centers, of which this one became the primary seat of civic activity. The town was divided in the 20th century by the creation of Barkhamsted Reservoir, serving the city of
Hartford
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, on the East Branch
Farmington River
The Farmington River is a river, U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 in length along its main stem, located in northwest Connecticut with major tributaries ex ...
. The reservoir inundated much of the original village of Barkhamsted Center, and all of Barkhamsted Hollow. The town's civic center moved to the village of Pleasant Valley, and its main commercial center is now
Riverton. As a result, the district shows the character of a rural mid 18th century community, now displaced by a 20th-century water supply reservoir.
See also
*
References
External links
Barkhamsted Historical Society history
{{National Register of Historic Places
Colonial architecture in the United States
Greek Revival architecture in Connecticut
Buildings and structures completed in 1776
Historic districts in Litchfield County, Connecticut
Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut
National Register of Historic Places in Litchfield County, Connecticut
Barkhamsted, Connecticut